


Birthday Surprise

by TheWeatherOutside



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Car Accidents, Family Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29430165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeatherOutside/pseuds/TheWeatherOutside
Summary: It's Gordon's birthday and the first one since his dad came home. He deserves a great day, doesn't he?Maybe not.
Relationships: Penelope Creighton-Ward/Gordon Tracy
Comments: 14
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the best boy's birthday, so here's a present for him :D

" _Happy birthday!_ "

Gordon darted up in his bed, his eyes barely open but his arms flailing about as he tried to attack whatever had abruptly woken him up.

As a moment passed and his mind woke up a bit, Gordon realised that it wasn't a threat, just his little brother who thought it was a good idea to come into his room yelling and bashing two pans together. Although, Gordon still wasn't entirely against the idea of murdering someone.

"Jesus, Al. What are you doing it's-" Gordon rubbed his eyes and looked over at his alarm clock, checking the time. "6am. What's with all the racket?"

"It's your birthday!" Alan said like that was a reasonable explanation for his actions.

"All the more reason for me to get to sleep past sunrise." Gordon fell back against the pillows, his eyes already closed again.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't up yet." Gordon then felt his mattress dip as Alan sat down on it, and Gordon groaned. "You can't go back to sleep."

"Watch me," he muttered.

"I'll grab the pans again." There was a shift on the mattress as Alan reached for the kitchen utensils, and Gordon knew there was no winning this.

"Fine. I'm up."

Gordon sat up again, this time shoving Alan off his bed as he did so. He wondered when his brother had learnt how to be so annoying, but he probably partially had himself to blame for that.

Gordon yawned and stretched, and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. It was then that he realised Alan was still standing there, watching him like an eager puppy.

"Is there something else you want?" Gordon asked, staring at the wide grin that was stretched along Alan's face. He had never seen his little brother with so much energy at this time in the morning.

"Come on!" Alan started to tug on Gordon's arm to get him off the bed. Apparently, Gordon was going too slow for his liking. "Everyone is waiting for you."

Gordon narrowed his brow. "Everyone?"

Gordon was surprised to see that all of his family were in fact waiting for him downstairs in the living room. It was rare for all of them to be up so early when a rescue hadn't forced them out of bed. Even John had come down from Thunderbird 5.

"Morning, birthday boy."

Gordon's attention was drawn to the man standing in the pit in the middle of the room, and he couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his face at seeing him.

It was his first birthday since his dad had come home, and although it was now close to a year since he'd returned, he still couldn't believe he was there.

"Morning, dad," Gordon greeted as he joined his family around the sofas and gave the man a hug. He still wasn't used to his hugs either. He may have lingered a little longer than he needed to.

"Come on then!" Alan appeared at his side the moment Gordon pulled away from his dad, and he pushed Gordon onto the closest seat. "Open your presents!"

He pointed towards the pile of neatly wrapped gifts that sat on the table with such enthusiasm that Gordon wouldn't be surprised if Alan thought it was actually his own birthday.

He couldn't help but chuckle at his little brother, and he began to feel giddy about the day himself now that he'd gotten over the abrupt wake up call.

He proceeded with opening the presents from his family, and when he was done he was surrounded by ripped up paper and more gifts than he felt he was worthy of.

"Well, I think it's time to get ready to leave," their dad announced as he stood up. "We've got lots to do, and I'm starving."

Gordon nodded eagerly as he stood up as well. He couldn't wait for the day ahead and didn't hesitate as he hurried back upstairs to get changed.

As this was Gordon's first birthday with his dad back home, they were going to go to the mainland together and spend the whole day with just the two of them. His dad had done it with his brothers on their birthdays, and now it was Gordon's turn.

He showered and got dressed as quickly as he could, throwing on his new bomber jacket that Virgil had gotten him and new boots from Scott.

By the time he made it down to the hanger, his dad was already waiting for him next to Thunderbird 1. The plan was for Scott to fly them to Los Angeles, a place that Gordon had decided on a little while ago, and drop them off so they could spend their day together before picking them up in the evening.

Gordon could barely contain his excitement as they loaded into the tall ship and started the take-off procedure. He was vibrating in his seat, but he couldn't tell if it was from the rumbling of the ship as it took off into the air or if it was because he couldn't wait for what he had planned for the day.

When Thunderbird 1 dropped them off at the airport, the two of them clambered into one of the automated taxis that sat outside.

"Any idea where you want to go for breakfast?" His dad asked him, but Gordon was already typing the address into the GPS that sat at the front.

"I know exactly where I want to go." A cheeky grin stretched across his face as he sat back in his seat and the car started to move. His dad sent him a questioning glance, but Gordon wanted it to be a surprise. Today was as much for his dad as it was for him.

The place they were headed to was a pancake house. Gordon had only ever been there once when he was a kid, but he swears that it was the best pancakes he had ever had.

That wasn't the reason he wanted to go, though. At least, not the full reason. They had gone to that pancake house on a family vacation they had taken during one summer. Well, it was less of a vacation and more of a business trip that their dad had to take and decided to bring the whole family with him. He still made a big effort to spend time with them between meetings, and in all the trip meant a lot to all of them as it was the first trip they had taken together since their mom died.

Later, they all realised that the real reason for that trip was that it was the first steps towards their dad setting up International Rescue.

Gordon was taking his dad there because he knew he would love the memory just as much as Gordon did.

Thinking about his dad, Gordon looked over at the man sitting next to him.

He was looking out the window, watching the city go by with such intent that it was as if he had never been there before.

Although it had been a little while since Jeff had returned from space, there wasn't many places he had been past the island. It was mainly so that he could gradually adjust to life on Earth again without the business of the rest of the world. But Gordon knew his dad really just loved being around his family, and would prefer making up time missed with them than seeing the world again.

However, Gordon couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face as he saw his dad's eyes glisten as they drove down the familiar street.

"Are we going where I think we're going?" His dad asked him when he finally caught on.

"Yep!" Gordon grinned as the taxi finally pulled up outside the pancake house.

The two of them climbed out of the taxi, and the vehicle drove itself off as they made their way into the restaurant.

Even though it was prime breakfast hour, it was a weekday so the restaurant wasn't all that busy, which meant that they got a booth in a quiet corner.

They thanked the waitress as she gave them a menu each, although Gordon already had a good idea of what he wanted to get.

"I'm getting everything," Gordon said. It had already been a few hours since he'd gotten up and now he was starving for something to eat, and his stomach rumbled as if to tell him just that.

His dad chuckled as his own belly joined in on the conversation. "That doesn't sound like too bad of an idea."

In the end, they didn't actually end up ordering everything, but they were damn close. Between them, they had pancakes topped with syrup, bananas, berries, chocolate, cream, and something green that Gordon couldn't identify but tasted sweet.

By the time that their plates were empty of every crumb and drop of sugary liquid, Gordon felt positively stuffed. He could barely move, and if he didn't have so much more planned for the day, he would have loved to just take a nap.

"I'm remembering why these are the best pancakes in the world," Gordon muttered as he tipped his head back against the seat. He sat up quickly again when he realised his mistake. "Aside from yours, of course."

"Nope, these are definitely better than mine." His dad was also slouched down in his seat as he felt the effects of eating way too many pancakes in one sitting.

"Well, as much as I'd love to never move again," Gordon said after a moment. "We have things we need to do."

Gordon reached into his pocket to grab his wallet, but his dad beat him to it.

"My treat," his dad waved his own wallet in front of him. "It is your birthday after all."

His dad's words left no room for argument, so Gordon had no choice but to slip his wallet back into his pocket as his dad called the waiter over and asked for the bill.

The pancakes now paid for, the two of them headed towards their next destination.

The aquarium was close enough to the pancake house that they could walk there and burn off some of the many, many pancakes that they'd consumed.

Gordon was glad that he'd brought his new jacket with him as, although it was LA, it was still the middle of February and there was a chill in the air.

Gordon shoved his hands into his pockets as the two them made their way down the street. The city was getting busier now that it was reaching the late morning, and Gordon found that he had to stick close to his dad so he wouldn't lose him in the crowd.

An aquarium didn't really seem too impressive for an aquanaut who could go to practically every corner of every ocean and sea in the world. He could just climb into Thunderbird 4 and see these creatures up close, even swim with some of them, but despite that there was a different reason he was here.

His dad being gone for eight years meant that he had missed out on a big chunk of Gordon growing up. He couldn't remember the last time he had dragged his dad to a place like this, so maybe this trip was more about making up for lost memories and having an excuse to be the child he never was.

Plus, this particular place had an otter rehabilitation centre and he loved otters.

When they had reached the aquarium, it wasn't long before his dad was asking Gordon what all the creatures were, and Gordon was relaying so much information on them that someone might start to mistake him as a tour guide.

"And these are horseshoe crabs. Which is funny because they're not even crustaceans, but they are super old. So old that they're considered living fossils, but they are endangered now," Gordon explained before he moved onto the next tank. "And this is a-"

He stopped once he realised his dad wasn't actually listening to what he was saying. He was just watching him with a fond expression on his face.

"What is it?" He frowned in confusion, wondering if he had said something wrong.

"Nothing. This just reminds me of when you were a kid."

It was at that moment that Gordon realised his dad had been asking all those questions for that very reason. He probably didn't actually want to know what all these fish were called, and likely already knew what they were from Gordon telling him all this in the past.

Despite that, Gordon was enjoying himself and he could tell his dad was too, so he soon continued on his explanation of the fish that were swimming in the next tank, a wide smile on his face.

They ended up spending a good few hours in the aquarium. They ate lunch in the cafeteria and visited the otter rehabilitation centre. Jeff bought Gordon a little turtle plush from the gift shop, and by the time they left it was already late afternoon.

There were still a few hours until Scott was due to pick them up, so they decided to spend the rest of that time down at the pier.

On their way down to the boardwalk, they were waiting at a crosswalk. As soon as the lights went red, they stepped into the road, but that was when a car suddenly came out of nowhere and tore straight through the crossing.

The car was clearly speeding, and the cop cars that zoomed along after it explained why that was, and why it never stopped when it should have.

Luckily, no one was out in the road when the cars came tearing past, so everyone was fine, if a little stunned at the incident. It only took a few moments for that shock to wear off, and then everyone was moving again as if it never happened.

Jeff and Gordon reached Santa Monica pier a short while later. Whilst they were there, they rode on the roller coaster and the Ferris wheel. They ate corn dogs and played games in the arcade, where Gordon obliterated his dad at basketball, but then Jeff made it up by wiping the floor with him at air hockey.

They ended it all sitting on the beach, both with a milkshake in their hands and watching the sunset.

"I guess it's time we should go meet Scott," Gordon said as he slurped up the final dregs of his drink and stood up.

"I actually had something else in mind," his dad said instead as he stood up to join him.

Gordon's brow creased in confusion. They had a specific time they needed to meet Scott so that they could head back to the island in time for dinner with the rest of the family.

However, it was then that he realised his dad wasn't looking at him, and was in fact looking over Gordon's shoulder.

Gordon spun around to see what he was looking at, and immediately he saw her walking down the beach towards them.

"Really?" Gordon turned back to his dad. "What about dinner?"

"You have dinner with us every night, son. I think you deserve a day without your grandma's cooking." He reached over to give Gordon's shoulder a squeeze. "Scott will pick me up, you go on ahead."

Gordon gave his dad the biggest hug he could and hurried away.

"Thank you. See you later!" He called to his dad, and he swore he heard the man laughing in the distance as he jogged across the beach.

He threw his empty milkshake cup in a trash can that he passed along the way and met her halfway.

"What are you doing here?" He asked when he got to her side.

"Your family wanted it to be a surprise." Penelope leant forward and gave him a soft kiss. "Happy birthday, by the way."

She whispered it close to his ear after he pulled her into a hug. With how busy their lives were, it had been a while since they last saw each other. He missed her.

"What did you have planned, then?"

"Parker is waiting in the car to take us back to mine where I have a special dinner planned." Her arm looped around his and she started to guide him to where the car was parked. "And then after that, we shall see what happens."

When they reached FAB 1, Gordon felt a little bad that he had sand all over his jeans and he was going to get it on the nice, leather seats. But Penelope didn't seem to mind as she slid onto the backseat, her own shoes covered in sand, so Gordon felt that it would be alright.

In FAB 1 they flew through the sky and towards England. It was quiet in the vehicle, aside from Parker's sporadic commentary about the weather, but at some point during the journey Penelope's hand had made its way into his.

When they reached the Creighton-Ward manor and stepped through the door, Gordon's nostrils were met with a variety of delicious smells. He couldn't quite identify what they were off, but that was because there were so many he couldn't concentrate on just one.

Penelope had clearly hired a catering service as there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the dining room when they entered it. There were people going in and out of the kitchen, carrying trays that were covered so Gordon couldn't take a peek at what was on them.

It was a lot for just him, and Gordon didn't think he was worthy of it.

"Pen, this is too much."

"Nonsense," Penelope waved him off as she made her way further into the room. As soon as she reached her seat, the staff practically vanished, but not before unveiling the array of dishes. "It's your birthday. Think of this as part of your present."

"Part of?" Gordon raised one eyebrow as he sat down in the seat across from hers.

"Yes, but you'll have to wait for the rest after dessert. Now, feel free to tuck in. There's a lot here to try."

Gordon didn't need telling twice. He got a helping of every single dish in front of him. He wanted to try it all if Penelope was going to go through all this effort just for him.

After his first helping, he wanted to go back in for seconds, but he held off because Penelope had promised dessert and he didn't want to be too full for that.

Sure enough, the staff soon appeared and replaced their empty plates with a slice of strawberry and cream cheesecake with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Gordon was glad he didn't opt for seconds, because by the time he'd finished he was so full there was no way he could fit even a crumb inside him.

He slumped back against his seat, a mirror image of how he felt after breakfast that morning, and wondered how he had managed to eat so much in just a day.

Gordon's attention was drawn to the woman in front of him when he heard a rustle. Suddenly, a neatly wrapped box appeared in front of him on the table that he hadn't even realised had been cleared. Those caterers were like magicians.

"For me?" Gordon looked down at the present and then back up at Penelope.

"Who else at this table has their birthday today?" Penelope giggled, and Gordon felt stupid. Still, he loved the sound of her laugh.

He carefully undid the paper. It was wrapped so nicely he didn't want to ruin it, which was a stark contrast to how he’d unwrapped his family's presents that morning.

The paper revealed a flat, white box, the sort that you would get jewellery in, only bigger.

Gordon slid the lid off and put it to the side. On the inside of the box, laying on cushioned padding to keep it safe, there was a circle of crystal, about the size of a small plate.

Engraved in the crystal slab was an array of dots, stars that made up constellations Gordon soon realised. It was like looking up at the clear night sky.

"This was what the sky looked like the very night that we first met."

Gordon's gaze broke from the gift to watch Penelope as she explained. She wasn't looking at him and was instead looking down at the table, appearing almost shy, if that was a word Gordon would ever use to explain her.

He looked down at the crystal again and soon he could see it. He had looked up at the stars for a long time that night, thinking about the girl his father had introduced him to earlier that day. That night sky was engrained in his mind after how long he'd sat there, and now he was wondering if Penelope had done the same.

"I love it, Pen."

Penelope's gaze finally met his, relief on her face, though Gordon didn't know what she had been worried about. Anything she gave him he would have loved.

If the table weren’t so wide, he would have leaned over it to kiss her. But as he couldn't reach, he stood up from his chair and made his way around it.

When he got to Penelope, he stopped behind her chair, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and leant down to kiss the top of her head.

"And I love you too."

Penelope grasped onto his hands that were clasped together over her chest and leant her head back to give him a kiss in return, smiling against his lips as she did so.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening in Penelope's sitting room, in front of the fireplace sharing a blanket. They were warm and cosy and just enjoying each other's company.

When the evening drew to a close and night was fast approaching, Penelope asked if he wanted to head up to her room. He was quick to say yes, and together they went upstairs.

There were a few things that Gordon left at Penelope's for the occasional times that he got to stay over. A toothbrush, some pyjamas. He brushed his teeth and got changed, and then he sat on Penelope's bed and waited for her to get ready.

Although, he'd had such a busy, fun-filled day that now he was sitting down on a soft, silky bed he was feeling the effects of it all. His limbs suddenly felt heavy and it was starting to become difficult to keep his eyes open.

Maybe if he just laid down on the bed whilst he waited for Penelope to return from the bathroom...

His head hit the pillow, and he was out immediately.

Penelope found him with one leg hanging over the edge of the bed and dead to the world. With an amused chuckle she tucked him under the sheets, shut the lights off, and curled into his side.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day. The day had been so perfect, in fact, that Gordon couldn't believe it was real.

Which was why it wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wait it wasn't real? 👀


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's see what really happened on gordon's birthday...

The day had been going so well.

It really had been. They'd all gotten up early to surprise Gordon with his presents, then he and Gordon took off to the mainland to spend the day together.

They'd gone out for pancakes, and eaten enough for five people, before they went to the aquarium. They had spent hours there. Gordon had told him about all the fish and sea creatures there, they visited the otters, and at the end of it he bought Gordon a little turtle plush from the gift shop.

It was when they left the aquarium that everything went wrong.

Now, he was holding that little turtle plush as he sat next to his son's hospital bed.

It had all happened so quickly. That car had come out of nowhere.

It had been a car chase, apparently, and it had gone straight through the crossing that they'd been walking across.

If it hadn't been for Gordon, Jeff would have been hit.

Jeff had been a step ahead of him, and thanks to Gordon's quick reflexes he had seen the car first.

He'd pulled Jeff back and out of the way, but in doing so he left himself open to be hit.

It was all so fast. First Gordon had been next to him, and then he was a crumpled heap on the asphalt, not moving.

Jeff had rushed to his side. He called Gordon's name but there was no response and way too much blood pooling beneath his head.

Things became a blur after that. Someone had called an ambulance. There were sirens and a lot of noise, and then his son was being placed on a stretcher and taken away.

Jeff had hurried after him into the back of the ambulance, and then it was just a flurry of commotion on the way to the nearest hospital.

That had been hours ago. Gordon still hadn't woken up.

There had been complications since then. Swelling on the brain. That had been a scary few hours, but thankfully there were now signs of it going down. But still no sign of his son waking up.

It was getting close to midnight now. Gordon's birthday was almost over. Some birthday he'd had, spending half of it unconscious with a concussion and several broken bones.

Gordon never seemed to get a break. Jeff knew all about how his son had risked his life to find out where he was, even if he didn't know that was what he was doing at the time. That wasn't really all that long ago, and now he was here again.

Jeff thought back to a similar day, several years ago now. A day that was also filled with panic and fear, but ended with joy and excitement.

Gordon had been so tiny when he was born. Two months too soon and forced to do the rest of his growing out in the real world.

When Jeff had first laid eyes on that tiny baby, too small to even hold, he had made a promise that he was going to protect him from anything that tried to harm him. He couldn't help but think he'd failed.

When Gordon could go back home, Jeff was determined to make this up to him. He would get the birthday he deserved, but this time from the safety of their island.

As the minutes ticked away, Jeff's eyes started to slip closed. He was struggling to stay awake. It had been a long day after all, but he wanted to be alert in case anything changed with Gordon.

He shook himself to wake up some more, but it wasn't long before his eyes felt shut again.

It felt like only a minute had passed before he was woken up again.

The hand in his had started to twitch slightly. Jeff sat up quickly, ignoring the ache in his neck for sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

The twitch was followed by a groan escaping Gordon's lips. It sounded like his son was mumbling something, but Jeff couldn't make any of it out.

"Gordon?" Jeff leant towards the bed and watched Gordon's eyes, willing them to open.

Gordon muttered something else, but a few moments later his eyelids fluttered open.

He blinked a few times at the ceiling, and then his gaze moved around the room before it landed on Jeff, and Jeff slumped in relief.

"Dad?" He frowned in apparent confusion and looked around the room some more.

"You're in hospital, son," Jeff supplied, assuming that Gordon didn't understand where he was yet. "Do you remember what happened?"

Gordon shook his head in response, but then winced.

"M' head hurts," he mumbled and squeezed his eyes shut.

Jeff reached over to press the button to alert the doctors who wanted him to let them know when Gordon woke up.

"That's understandable," Jeff said as he gave Gordon's hand a squeeze. "You were hit by a car. When we left the aquarium?"

He added the last bit to see if Gordon remembered, but the confusion still on his face said that he didn't. With how hard he had hit his head, Jeff honestly wasn't surprised at that.

A doctor appeared a moment later and started running some tests and asking some questions. By the time they'd left, Gordon looked like he was ready to head back to sleep.

He didn't, though, and instead he glanced over at the toy that was still in Jeff's hand.

"My turtle."

That was a good sign that he at least remembered that part.

"Yeah." Jeff placed the turtle in Gordon's hand that he had previously been holding. Gordon lifted it to place it on his chest so he could look at it better. "You should give it a name."

"I'll call him Steve."

"Steve?" Jeff raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, Steve."

That was that then. There would be no changing Gordon's mind now he'd settled on something.

Gordon settled back against his pillows and his eyes started to droop again.

"Go back to sleep, Gords. Your brothers should be here in the morning."

"You...too," he mumbled, already sounding half asleep.

Jeff chuckled. His sons always made sure that he was taking care of himself, even before he'd gotten lost in space.

"Don't worry, I’ll get some sleep too." He'd probably get kicked out of here at some point anyway.

Gordon was quiet for a few minutes and Jeff thought he'd fallen asleep, until he spoke again.

"Some birthday," he grumbled. He didn't sound too upset about it, but that may have just been because his voice was laced with exhaustion. Still, Jeff knew his son and he knew that despite everything, Gordon would still find something to smile about from today.

Gordon went silent again and this time Jeff was sure he was asleep by his even breathing. He was clutching his turtle close to his chest, and the sight made Jeff believe his son was five again and he was putting him back to bed after a nightmare.

The thought made Jeff's heart ache that even back then life was cruel to him. This time, as he sat beside his second youngest's hospital bed, he really meant it when he said he would protect him from the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! hope you enjoyed it :D


End file.
